The car that Ashwin Sundar drove was originally not registered in his name, police sources said. He had bought it from a sportsperson in the city and intended to sell it off.
A.K. Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, told The Hindu , “Our preliminary investigation revealed that the car could have been driven at a speed of over 120 km. That’s when the driver must have lost control, leading to the tragic accident.”
Police investigation further revealed that the couple was proceeding towards Leela Palace Hotel from Sathya Studio after visiting a few friends in Besant Nagar. The couple had uploaded photos on Facebook just before the accident.
The police said that after the driver lost control, the vehicle ran over the platform. Since, the car has low ground clearance, its fuel tank or engine could have been damaged in the incident or developed a leak due to the ramming.
The spilled petrol could have come into contact with the sparks caused due to the scraping on the road or the crash, and the car would have instantly caught fire, police sources said.
After retrieving the remains, Fire and Rescue services personnel deployed a JCB to lift the remains and dump them into a garbage lorry.
It was then taken to Shastri Nagar police station where the Adyar Traffic Investigation wing functions. The mangled car was dumped on the roadside near the station.
Forensics experts visited the site where the accident occurred and examined the remains of the car. Motor vehicle inspectors also checked the vehicle.
Forensics team
Another senior police officer said the forensics team would try and analyse all possibilities which led to the accident and find the cause. Motor vehicle experts would examine whether there was any mechanical defect or modifications made to the car that might have compromised its safety.
“Both of them will submit their reports to us. We will correlate these with the post-mortem report,” said the police officer, adding that footage from CCTV cameras in the vicinity would also be examined.
The Adyar Traffic Investigation Police registered a case under Section 279 (Rash driving) and 304 A(Causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.
